Gas-fueled lighter with forced burner control



M r h 9 KARL-ERICH WIEDEN ETAL 3,241,342

GAS-FUELED LIGHTER WITH FORGED BURNER CONTROL Filed July 28, 1964 INVENTORS United States Patent 3,241,342 GAS-FUELED LIGHTER WIT H FORQED BURNER CONTROL Karl-Erich Wieden, Solingen-Merscheid, and Paul Heling, Solingen-Wald, Germany, assignors to Firma Wieden 8: Co. G.m.b.H., Solingen-Ohligs, Germany, a corporation of Germany Filed July 28, 1964, Ser. No. 385,597 Claims priority, application Germany, Aug. 3, 1963, W 35,027 4 Claims. (Cl. 677.1)

The present invention relates to a gas-fueled lighter with forced burner control.

In gas-fueled lighters of known structure, the gaseous fuel emerges through an opening provided for the escape of gaseous fuel, which is designed as a gas fuel burner consisting of a spring-biased valve tappet.

Control devices of most different structures are known for the control of this exit opening for the gaseous fuel. In each case, however, additional control elements are required for the control of the exit opening for the gaseous fuel, which additional control elements bring about by means of closure caps or in dependency upon the friction wheel, the opening and closing of the exit opening for the gaseous fuel by means of a spring-biased tappet.

It is one object of the present invention to provide a gas-fueled lighter with forced burner control, which includes the simplest means for forcibly opening and closing, respectively, the exit opening for the gaseous fuel.

With this and other objects in view, which will become apparent in the following detailed description, the present invention will be clearly understood in connection with the accompanying drawing, in which the only figure shows a longitudinal section of the gas-fueled lighter.

Referring now to the drawing, the gas-fueled lighter comprises a housing 1, a head portion 2 carrying the ignition device, as well as a gas tank 3, into which a burner valve 4 of any known structure is screwed. The gas tank 3 is movably mounted in the lighter housing 1, and in particular it is mounted with its projection 5 formed as a pivot-point engaging the corresponding corner of the housing for a swinging movement along a circular are within the lighter housing about the pivot point.

The gas tank 3 is equipped at its narrow end side with a pressure member 6, which projects through an end wall of the lighter housing 1 in order to permit favorably the swinging movement of the gas tank 3 in the direction of the arrow 7 by proper gripping of the pressure member 6. On the opposite narrow side of the gas tank 3, a spring blade 8 is arranged, which is secured to the bottom of the lighter housing 1 and the swinging movement of the gas tank 3 about the pivot point takes place against the pressure of the spring blade 8. The latter is designed with such a strength, that it returns reliably the gas tank 3 after operation of the pressure member 6 again into its original position.

The burner valve 4 is equipped in known manner on its freely upwardly extending neck portion with an annular, calot-shaped collar 9. The freely extending neck portion of the burner valve 4 with its collar 9 is subjected to spring pressure in downward direction and thus retains the closed position of the gas-fuel exit opening.

The head portion 2, which carries also the ignition device 10, is formed within the range of the gas exit opening movement as an upper wedge face 11, which at its center portion 12 is slotted, so that the calot-shaped collar 9 of the burner valve 4 can support itself with both its tangent edges on the wedge face 11.

If now the gas tank 3, with its pressure member 6, is moved against the pressure of the spring blade 8 about the pivot point, the calot-shaped collar 9 runs on the wedge face 11. During the approach of the collar 9 on the wedge face 10, the neck portion of the burner valve 4, the latter being under spring pressure, is forcibly lifted and the gas exit opening is opened, whereby now gas fuel can escape.

The burner valve 4 stands upon completion of the swinging movement of the gas tank 3 below the flame exit opening 13 in the head portion 2. The flame can now, upon completed ignition, burn freely through the opening 13 of the head portion 2.

As soon as the finger pressure upon the pressure memher 6 of the gas tank 3 is released, the force of the spring blade 8 becomes effective and pushes the gas tank 3 in a swinging movement about the pivot point back into its original position. The neck portion of the burner valve 4 with its collar 9 rides down along the wedge face 11 and the burner valve 4 closes again forcibly in view of the fact that it is under spring pressure. For a better guidance of the gas tank 3 in the lighter housing 1, the upper face 14 and the bottom face 15 of the cross wall of the head portion 2 are likewise designed as a circular arc. The pressure member 6 projects through a complementary opening 16 provided in the lighter housing 1.

The shown and described embodiment is merely one possibility of the realization of the concept of the pres ent invention. Other embodiments are possible within the scope of the present invention.

While we have disclosed one embodiment of the present invention, it is to be understood that this embodiment is given by example only and not in a limiting sense, the scope of the present invention being determined by the objects and the claims.

We claim:

1. A gas-fueled lighter with forced burner control, comprising a lighter housing,

a head portion secured to said lighter housing,

a fuel tank of a size smaller than said lighter housing and mounted in said lighter housing for a swinging reciprocating movement therein,

said head portion including across-wall having an upper wedge face,

a burner valve having a spring-biased valve normally maintained in its closed position and projecting through said cross-wall and including a substantially calot-shaped collar,

said calot-shaped collar of said burner riding on said wedge face of said cross-wall, so that upon swinging said fuel tank in said lighter housing, said burner valve opens and the open and closed position of the latter is controlled by the movement of said fuel tank.

2. The gas-fueled lighter, as set forth in claim 1, Wheresaid gas tank has a pressure member secured to the narnow end face thereof,

said pressure member projecting through said lighter housing, and

said gas tank has at its lower edge opposite said pressure member a projection engaging as a pivot point the complementary corner of said lighter housing to permit the reciprocating movement of said fuel tank in said lighter housing.

3. The gas-fueled lighter, as set forth in claim 2, which includes spring means disposed between the end face of said fuel tank remote from said pressure member and the closest end face of said lighter housing, whereby said spring means returns said fuel tank into its original References Cited by the Examiner position uopn releasing said pressure member. FOREIGN PATENTS 4. The gas-fueled lighter, as set forth in claim 1, Wherein 430,394 6/1926 Germany.

the upper face of said fuel tank and the bottom face 5 7981354 7/1958 Great Britainof said cross-Wall form complementary faces of a circular arc cross section, in order to provide a het- EDWARD MICHAEL P r 1mm y Examiner ter guide for the movement of said fuel tank. 

1. A GAS-FUELED LIGHTER WITH FORCED BURNER CONTROL, COMPRISING A LIGHTER HOUSING, A HEAD PORTION SECURED TO SAID LIGHTER HOUSING, A FUEL TANK OF A SIZE SMALLER THAN SAID LIGHTER HOUSING AND MOUNTED IN SAID LIGHTER HOUSING FOR A SWINGING RECIPROCATING MOVEMENT THEREIN, SAID HEAD PORTION INCLUDING ACROSS-WALL HAVING AN UPPER WEDGE FACE, A BURNER VALVE HAVING A SPRING-BIASED VALVE NORMALLY MAINTAINED IN ITS CLOSED POSITION AND PROJECTING THROUGH SAID CROSS-WALL AND INCLUDING A SUBSTANTIALLY CALOT-SHAPED COLLAR, SAID CALOT-SHAPED COLLAR OF SAID BURNER RIDING ON SAID WEDGE FACE OF SAID CROSS-WALL, SO THAT UPON SWINGING SAID FUEL TANK IN SAID LIGHTER HOUSING, SAID BURNER VALVE OPENS AND THE OPEN AND CLOSED POSITION OF THE LATTER IS CONTROLLED BY THE MOVEMENT OF SAID FUEL TANK. 